Water softener regenerator valve

ABSTRACT

An automatic control valve for water softening systems employs a housing which contains a valve body and has chambers which are connected selectively by the valve body to effect the sequential stages of soft water supply, regeneration and backwash of the conditioning tank. The valve body is intermittently actuated by clock mechanism to effect the sequential stages.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Hal Travers 2,036,634 4/1936 Inch 210/191 Snyder, NYv 2,146,983 2/1939 Pick 210/191 (21] App]. No 546,056 2,462,154 2/1949 Barnes 210/191 [22] Filed Apr. 28,1966 3,157,199 11/1964 Banks et al. 137/625.21 X [45] Patented July 6, 1971 3,208,476 9/1965 Clack 137/5991 [73] Assignee Marine Midland Trust Company of 3,233,732 2/1966 Lung et al.. 210/191 X Western New York 3,307,581 3/1967 Rudelick 137/625.29 Buffalo, N.Y. 3,335,752 8/1967 Hiers et al 137/5991 Primary Examiner-Frank A. Spear, Jr. 54 WATER SOFIENER REGENERATOR VALVE Brooks, Buckley & Bean 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 210/136, 210/140,210/191 III. An automatic control valve for water oftening Field 0 Search ystems employs a housing contains a valve and 13 190, 1 1 l37/62 625-2l has chambers which are connected selectively by the valve body to effect the sequential stages of soft water supply, [56] References Cned regeneration and backwash of the conditioning tank. The UNITED STATES PATENTS valve body is intermittently actuated by clock mechanism to 1,831,656 1 1/1931 Eisenhauer 210/ 191 effect the sequential stages.

PATENTEB JUL sum SHEET 1 OF 2 3591.005

ATTORNEYS PATENTEI] JUL 6l971 3591.005

SHEET 2 [IF 2 60 k k 1 INVEN'IOR.

HAL TRAVEQS 'A TTOPNEYS WATER SOFTENER REGENERATOR VALVE This invention relates in general to valve constructions and subsidiarily to water softening systems incorporating improved valve means.

It is not uncommon in the valve art to encounter the requirements of valve operation which demand that a relatively high flow rate be permitted without undue pressure drop concurrent with the demand that effort of operation is minimized and involves a minimum of mechanism movement in carrying the valve from one position to another, as for example from full open to full closed. It is therefore of primary concern in connection with this invention to provide an improved form of valve construction in which these general objectives are capable of attainment.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved valve wherein the valve is provided with a rotary body characterized by the fact that it is subjected on all sides to equalized pressure so that operation of the valve by rotation of the body requires minimum effort.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved form of valve construction as aforesaid wherein the valve housing is provided in two separable sections forming, when mated, a chamber receiving the valve body proper, which, as aforesaid, is of rotary form and which is effective in different rotational positions thereof to effect communication between several inlet and outlet passages of the valve.

Water softening systems of the type with which the present invention is concerned utilize a tank having disposed therewithin materials such as zeolites to effect softening of the water which percolates therethrough. Such tanks are typically provided with a hard water inlet and a soft water outlet and as will be readily recognized by those skilled in this art, the water softening material must periodically be regenerated if a reasonably uniform degree of water softening is to be attained by the system. The regeneration is effected by flowing a sodium chloride saturated brine through the water softening material to replace or regenerate the sodium of the bed which has become replaced by calcium and magnesium as a consequence of passage of hard water therethrough. This type of system, in general, is old and well known in the art and as such is not claimed as inventive herein. However, in prior art systems utilizing this type of arrangement, it is common that the valving and plumbing associated with the system, particularly where the system is periodically cycled automatically as by a clock mechanism, reaches extreme complication. That is to say, such systems normally employ a large number of valves and flow lines for the purpose of achieving the above objectives. In addition, it is common in prior art practice to provide a backwash or flushing flow of water through the water softening tank, which backwash may be separate from the regeneration cycle.

Accordingly, it is of primary concern in connection with this invention to provide an improved form of water softening system which includes automatic cycling and which is typified by the absence of complicated plumbing and valving to effect its purpose.

Further, in conventional systems as described above in which automatic cycling is employed, the valves used ordinarily require considerable force to be used in their operation. This is due principally to the presence of differential pressures acting on the movable part or parts of the valve and thus causing substantial force to be exerted in order to overcome such pressure differentials.

Accordingly, it is a further object of this invention to provide an improved form of valve, particularly adapted for use in water softening systems, in which internal pressures are balanced to render the valve more easily operable.

Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a single valve structure in association with a water softening system which is so constructed and arranged in its internal component parts as to permit cyclic and periodic regeneration of the water softening medium within the tank by simultaneous backwash and regeneration.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved form of valve as aforesaid wherein the regeneration fluid is caused to commingle with the backwash fluid flow.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the description hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a water softening system constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the valve according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken through the valve as shown in FIG. 2 and illustrating normal water softening flow therethrough;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the valve in a second position and illustrating the bypass and backwash flow characteristics attained by the valve;

FIG. 5 is a section taken substantially along the plane of section line 5-5 in FIG. 3 and illustrating one face of the valve body;

FIG. 6 is a section taken substantially along the plane of section line 6-6 in FIG. 3 and illustrating certain of the transfer passages in the valve body; I

FIG. 7 is a section taken substantially along the plane of section line 7-7 in FIG. 4 and illustrating the valve body in its associated position shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a section taken substantially along the plane of section line 8-8 in FIG. 4 showing further details of the valve assembly and, in particular, of the check valve mechanism associated therewith.

With reference now more particularly to FIG. 1, wherein the valve and a water softening system according to this invention is shown, the reference character 10 indicates a hard water supply line which may lead from any suitable supply source as will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The reference character 12 indicates the supply line to an external load and which, under normal circumstances, will carry softened water as achieved by the contents of the tank indicated generally by the reference character 14. The valve assembly is indicated generally by the reference character 16 and as shown, this valve assembly has connection to the hard water supply 10 and to the soft water line 12 and, additionally, has connection to the hard water inlet connection 18 of the tank 14 and to the soft water outlet connection 20 of the tank 14. It will be appreciated that the tank 14 contains a quantity of water softening material, preferably a zeolite and it will also be appreciated that the connections 18 and 20 are such that water passing into the tank 14 through the connection 18 will be caused to percolate or flow through the zeolite material before passing outwardly of the tank through the outlet connection 20. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a suitable container indicated generally by the reference character 22 having a supply of sodium chloride saturated brine 24 therewithin, such container having a connection as at 26 to a water supply which may be in common with the water supply to the line 10 of the tank and an associated ball float valve 28 for maintaining a predetermined level of sodium chloride saturated brine within the container 22. A stand pipe 30 extends into the container 22 and is provided with a perforate or open lower end for drawing the sodium chloride saturated brine 24 from within the container 22. It is understood of course that the sodium chloride saturated brine constitutes a regenerating fluid for the water softening material disposed within the tank 14. Generally speaking, the water softening system of the present invention operates on a principle of periodically altering the condition of valve 16 so that the normal flow as aforesaid is interrupted and the flow of water to the external supply at the line [2 is directly, within the valve 16, connected to the hard water supply whereas, simultaneously, a backwash flow of hard water is caused to flow in reverse direction into the tank 14, that is through the outlet connection 20 thereof reversely therethrough and out the inlet connection 18 and into the valve for ultimate flow to waste as by means of a conduit 32 and indicated in FIG. I. At the same time, the valve construction is such as to cause a quantity of the regenerating fluid to flow or commingle with the backwash flow of hard water and to thus pass through the tank in the backwash flow direction to regenerate the water softening material within the tank 14.

With reference now to FIG. 3, the valve construction according to the present invention will be seen to consist of two valve housing members indicated generally by reference characters 34 and 36 respectively so that the housing is, in effect, formed of two halves normally joined together in mating relationship as by means of a plurality of bolts 38 as can be best seen in FIG. 2. The opposed or adjacent sides of the valve housing members form, when mated, a valve chamber 40 therebetween which will be seen to house a cylindrical valve body 42. A spindle 44 projects through one of the valve housing halves and is fixed to the valve body 42 so that the valve body may be rotated by external means as for example a solenoid mechanism 46 as is shown in FIG. I which is under the control of a clock mechanism indicated generally by the reference character 48 in that same Figure.

The valve housing half 34 provides a pair of chambers 50 and 52 which are separated from each other by the dividing wall or partition 54 and the sidewall portion 56 of the section 34 which in part forms the chamber 40 is provided with openings 58 and 60 communicating the respective chambers 50 and 52 with the chamber 40 substantially as may be seen in FIG. 3, for example. In addition to the two openings 58 and 60, the wall portion 56 is further provided with the opening 62 as can be best seen in FIG. except, as can be best seen in FIG. 8, the opening 62 does not lead into the chamber 52 as does the opening 60, but leads, instead, to the wasteline 32 previously described. The complementary wall portion 66 of the other housing section 36 is provided with an opening 68 leading into the chamber 70 of the other section 36. The valve body 42 is provided with a transfer recess 80 which, as can be best seen in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 is effective, in the position of the components as shown in FIG. 3, to bridge between the two openings 58 and 60 and establish direct communication between the hard water inlet and the inlet 18 into the softening tank I4. Further, the valve body 42 is provided with a through-passage 82 as can be best seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 which, in the position of the valve shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, directly connects the hard water inlet passage line 10 to the external supply line 12 as is shown in FIG. 4. The chamber 70 of the valve section 36, as can be seen best in FIGS. 3 and 4 is provided at its lower end with a seat 86 for association with and upon which a ball member 88 is adapted to seat under certain circumstances. When the flow of water is in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3, the fluid pressure is such as to unseat the ball 88 and permit the passage of water as shown. However, when the valve is in the disposition shown in FIG. 4, the ball 88 is forced to its seated position or rather it is held therein to prevent direct flow connection from the supply line 10 to the tank outlet line 20. Instead, a bleed passage 90 which bypasses the valve as shown in FIG. 4 is provided to permit a predetermined quantity of the hard water to flow in the reverse direction for backwash flow through the filter or water softening material. At the same time, the bleed passage 90 is provided with a restricted orifice device 92 having its throat disposed closely adjacent the inlet passageway 94 connected to the regenerating fluid line 30 so that the backwash flow of water will draw the regenerating fluid up to commingle with the backwash water and flow reversely through the tank in the manner indicated by the arrows 96 in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the valve housing assembly is provided with an inlet nipple 100, an outlet nipple 1102 as well as further nipples 104 and 106, it being appreciated, however, that these entities may be formed integrally with respective valve housing sections 34 and 36. Similarly, the branched manifold assembly I08 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may also be separated and formed with respective valve sections 34 and 36. In addition to the transfer recess 80 and the throughpassage 82, the valve body 42 is provided with the secondary transfer recess as can be seen best in FIGS. 6 and 7. This transfer recess 110 is adapted to communicate between the opening 62 and the opening 60 of the valve housing section 34 to allow the backwash water to flow outwardly through and to the wasteline 32 previously described.

As can be seen best in FIG. 5, the openings 58 and 60 in the wall portion 56 of the housing section 34 are surrounded by O- ring members and 122 received in annular grooves formed in land areas 124 and 126 and, aswell, the opening 62 is likewise surrounded by an O-ring 128 seated within a groove formed in the land area 130 surrounding such opening 62. A similar situation prevails for the wall portion 66 of the housing section 36, there being an annular O-ring (reference character 126 in FIG. 3) received in a land area surrounding the opening 68. These O-rings are adapted to be engaged by the opposite side faces of the valve body 42 and provides effective seals in conjunction therewith. At the same time, it will be appreciated that the O-rings are outstanding with respect to the opposed faces of the wall portions 56 and 66 so that slight clearance spaces 132 and 134 (FIG. 3) are provided. Also, there is slight clearance around the valve body (1136 in FIG. 3) and as these clearance spaces are in communication with each other, any fluid pressure present therein will be equalized so that no force tending to bind the valve body 42 will be present. The land areas aid in forming opposite side clearance spaces. Thus, the valve body is hydraulically balanced and very little effort is required to rotate it to any desired position of adjustment.

Whereas only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail hereinabove, it will be appreciated that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

ll. An automatic control valve for a water softening system comprising, in combination,

a valve housing having a plurality of chambers, a first of which chambers is provided with a water supply inlet, a second of which chambers is provided with an outlet for connection to a water softening tank and a third of which chambers is provided with an inlet for connection to the outlet of a water softening tank and a water outlet at its other end, said first chamber having an internal water outlet opening and said second chamberhaving an internal water inlet opening and said third chamber having an internal water inlet opening, said housing also having a passage for connection to waste,

a rotatable valve body interposed between said first and second chambers, on the one hand, and said third chamber on the other hand and having a first port establishing, in one position of the valve body, communication between said internal openings of the first and second chambers whereby water passes sequentially through said first and second chambers into said tank and thence outwardly from the tank through said third chamber, said valve body having a second transfer port establishing, in a second position of the body, communication between said internal opening of said first chamber and the internal opening of said third chamber whereby water may pass directly from said water supply inlet to said water outlet of the third chamber, a check valve within said third chamber for blocking direct water flow through said inlet thereof, a bleed passage bypassing said check valve to pass a small quantity of supply water therearound when the check valve is closed, said valve body having a third transfer port establishing, in said second position of the body, communication from said second chamber to said waste passage whereby, when the valve body is in its second position, water may pass from said water supply inlet through said first chamber to said third chamber and out through said water outlet while a continuous flow of bypass water passes from said third chamber around said check valve to said inlet of the third chamber ultimately to pass through said outlet of the second chamber to said waste passage.

2. The automatic control valve according to claim I including an aspirating nozzle in said bleed passage, and a brine inlet passage connected to said bleed passage adjacent said aspirating nozzle.

3. A valve construction comprising, in combination,

a pair of housing members secured together in face-to-face opposition and presenting a pocket therebetween defined in part by a pair of spaced parallel wall portions, one of said housing members having first and second chambers therein and there being first and second openings in said wall portion of such one housing member opening into respective ones of said chambers, and there being a third opening in said wall portion of the one housing member opening into said second chamber, the other housing member having a passage therethrough and there being an opening in said wall portion of such other housing member opening into said passage,

a valve body rotatably supported by one of said housing members about an axis perpendicular to said wall portions, said valve body being located within said pocket and sandwiched between the wall portions thereof, said valve body having an opening therethrough for simultaneous registry with said first opening and said opening in said other housing member to communicate said first chamber with said passage in one rotational position of the valve body, said body also having a recess in one side for communicating said first and second chamber through said first and second openings in another rotational position of the valve body,

means for selectively rotating said valve body,

sealing means surrounding said opening in the housing members, said sealing means maintaining clearance spaces between said valve body and said housing member,

said valve body having radial clearance with said housing members to communicate said clearance spaces and equalize fluid pressure on opposite sides of said valve body,

a bleed passage around said check valve,

an aspirating nozzle in said bleed passage, and

a brine inlet passage connected to said bleed passage adjacent said aspirating nozzle.

4. A valve construction comprising, in combination,

a housing assembly having a closed chamber therein formed in part by a pair of spaced, parallel wall surfaces,

a valve body disposed within said chamber, said valve body having a thickness less than the spacing between said parallel wall surfaces to present opposite side faces parallel to but spaced from respective ones of said parallel wall surfaces,

means mounting said valve body for rotation within said chamber about an axis normal to said parallel wall surfaces,

said housing assembly having an inlet opening into said chamber and an outlet leading from said chamber,

said parallel wall surfaces having a plurality of circular grooves therein, one of which surrounds said inlet and another of which surrounds said outlet,

an O-ring received within each of said grooves and each being of a thickness to stand outwardly of the respective wall surface to reach and contact a corresponding face of said valve body,

said valve body having a channel therein for establishing communication between said inlet and said outlet in one rotational position of the body,

said housing presenting a first distribution chamber having an inlet for connection to a water supply and said inlet opening into the first-mentioned chamber, a second distribution chamber having an outlet for connection to a water softening tank and having said outlet leading from said chamber as an inlet thereto, said first and second distribution chambers lying on one side of said valve body,

and a third distribution chamber lying on the other side of said valve body, said third distribution chamber having an inlet from said first chamber, a water outlet, and a further inlet for connection to the outlet of a water softening tank, said valve body having a passage therethrough connecting said first and third distribution chambers in another rotational position thereof.

5. A valve construction for water softener systems comprising, in combination,

a pair of housing members secured together in face-to-face opposition and presenting a pocket therebetween defined in part by a pair of spaced parallel wall portions,

a cylindrical valve body received in said pocket and having end faces disposed in spaced parallel relation to respective wall portions of said housing members,

means mounting said valve body for rotation about its axis within said pocket,

said valve body having a bore therethrough extending between its end faces in offset relation to its axis and having, in one end face thereof, a diametrically extending primary transfer recess extending along a diametrical line which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of radial offset of said bore, said valve body also having a secondary transfer recess in said one end face parallel to the primary transfer recess and spaced therefrom in the direction away from said bore,

the wall portion of that one housing member opposed to said one end face of the valve body having a pair of openings offset in opposite radial directions and a third opening offset laterally from one of said pair of openings, said one housing member having a first chamber communicating with the other opening and adapted for connection to a source of water under pressure, said one housing member having a second chamber communicating with said one opening and adapted for connection to a water softening tank, and having a waste passage leading to said third opening, the wall portion of the other housing member having a fourth opening aligned with said other opening of said one housing member and having a third chamber communicating with such fourth opening, said third chamber being adapted for connection to a service line and to the normal outlet of a water softening tank, a check valve preventing reverse flow directly through said third chamber and a bleed passage around said check valve, and all of said openings in said wall portions being surrounded by O-ring members bridging between and sealingly engaging said wall portions and the respective end faces of said valve body,

means for selectively rotating said valve body between a first position in which said primary transfer recess bridges between said pair of openings while communicating the water pressure source with the pocket space around said valve body, and a second position in which said bore communicates said one and said forth openings with said secondary transfer recess bridging between said other and said third openings while communicating the water pressure source with the pocket space around said valve body,

an aspirating nozzle within said bleed passage, and

a brine inlet passage communicating with said bleed passage adjacent said aspirating nozzle. 

